Doom's Basic Knowledge
This page will cover the basic knowledge and tactics when playing Doom. The Difficulty levels In Doom, there are 5 levels of difficulty. Just remember that when playing the game on a higher difficulty level will mean that the levels will not only have more enemies to kill, but also less opportunities to re-supply on ammo, likewise restoring your health and armor. However, there are some difficulty levels that have their own distinct features. The I'm too young to die difficulty, you take less damage and ammo items give you double the amount than they do otherwise. The Nightmare difficulty, enemies are faster and re-spawn. So, be careful when playing the game on higher difficulties. Keys are the key In Doom, you will have to face the inevitability of finding a certain door that only opens if you have a certain key. This means you'll have to find that key to open the door. In some stages, there are as many as 3 keys (Red, Blue and Yellow) for you to find so you can open doors that are color-coded. Sometimes, finding keys can also allow you to find certain items and into secret areas. Know your weapons Remember that not just one weapon will do the job, and that's true in Doom. Your bullet based weapons (e.g., The Pistol, The Chaingun) aren't very powerful, but are good when attacking long range enemies. The Shotgun is good at close range, but not so much at a distance. The Rocket Launcher is also good for distant targets and even swarms of enemies but it's not a good idea to fire it in tight quarters due to the rocket's blast. The BFG 9000 is great for using it against big enemies, but it takes 1.5 seconds to actually fire and requires a good deal of your energy ammunition. Slime Time In Doom, there's also the inevitability that you will have to wade through toxic slime. The bad news is that it'll slowly but surely drain your health if you wade through it too long, fortunately however in some stages there are radiation shielding suits that will allow you to go through slimy pools without worrying about your health draining. But if you must wade through the slime without a radiation suit (which is inevitable) make sure you have enough health to make it through. Supply Rationing Keep in mind that each stage you traverse is going to have so many helpful supplies such as ammo and Medikits, the smaller portions are good to maintain your ammo and health, but try to save the bigger portions for a time where you really need them. For example, if you pick up a Medikit (which restores 25 HP) but your health is already at 85 HP, you wasted 10 HP. This is even more critical when you're playing the game on higher difficulty levels. Remember to save What is even more critical is remembering to save. Why? Because at any time you are defeated by enemies. You will have to re-start the stage you died in, armed only with your pistol. Forcing you to find your arsenal again. Saving the game frequently helps you to prevent this as you can re-start the stage you died in with all of your weapons. Unarmed Combat When going against some enemies, it's equally important to use weapons that don't shoot. This tactic will help you to save on ammo (especially if ammo is going to be scarce), when you have the Chainsaw, use that on minor enemies. Also, take advantage of Berserk Kits as they give your fist 3 times the power it does otherwise. When playing on higher difficulty levels, this tactic becomes more ciritical. Secrets Every stage has secret areas, and these areas are usually jammed-pack with really good items, some of them can really help you. So be sure you take advantage of a secret area once you find one, search everywhere for something suspicious, it may lead you to a secret area.